The travelling showmen were due to leave the field alongside the A281 by 4.30pm on Tuesday, but a last-ditch legal challenge gained them some breathing space, though only until the end of the month.

High Court judge, Mr Justice Lloyd, labelled the showmen’s move on to the 24-hectare site last September a “flagrant breach of planning controls”.

He rejected a plea by the fairground workers, known as the Fairhaven Group, to stay on the land until there is a decision on their planning appeal.

Waverley Borough Council (WBC) took action against the group after its members staged a military-style invasion of the land. Although the showmen own the site, planning permission for them to use it as permanent quarters had been rejected and their actions have been judged to be illegal.

The High Court eventually allowed them to stay until this week, a decision that was challenged in the court on Monday.

Mr Justice Lloyd said he had sympathy for the showmen and their families, who had made efforts to find alternative sites for the winter, but now appeared to have “nowhere else to go”.

The court heard how the group needed a site for the winter in order to store their fairground equipment and to establish a temporary base.

“They have made very extensive efforts, none of which have borne fruit,” said the judge.

The problem of finding space to live was compounded by their need to store their heavy equipment and by the spiralling cost of land in the south east, “well beyond the capacity of most show people”, he continued.

But he still rejected their plea to be allowed to remain until the outcome of the appeal is known.

The group’s solicitor-advocate, Richard Eaton, asked for the injunction to be suspended either for a further six to eight weeks, or until 14 days after the determination of the planning appeal.

Mr Justice Lloyd said the showmen “cannot be allowed to remain on the site in breach of planning controls”.

But he also said it was also unreasonable to require them to quit the land by 4.30pm on Tuesday – the day he gave his judgement.

He told the court: “On that basis only, and in order to allow time for the site to be closed down and for the defendants to leave in a more orderly fashion, I propose to suspend the injunction until January 31 at 4.30pm.”

One local resident, said: “We are delighted Waverley has shown that it is determined to do whatever is necessary to return this land to its proper agricultural use.”